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DIY: Do It Yourself Post here to share or improve your wrench turning skills! All BMW E46 DIY tips, tales, and projects discussed inside. Learn to work on your car and know the right BMW parts you will need!

What an extremely detailed and well put together DIY. How long did it take you to do this??

How long do you think it would take a shop to do this with a lift and the tools and everything??? thanks

it would take 1-2 hours probably. It took me just a couple hours aswell, It takes more time for me cause I constantly am stopping to take pictures!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony3series

Ditto and bump for an extremely detailed DIY! Feel more comfortable in attempting to tackle this now

Thanks guys I appreciate it!

I just wanted to add that you might be able to get at the shifter itself out without dropping the exhaust/drive shaft, but it is definitly more challanging and confined. I have never attempted any part of this job without removing the exhaust/driveshaft.

I just wanted to add that you might be able to get at the shifter itself out without dropping the exhaust/drive shaft, but it is definitly more challanging and confined. I have never attempted any part of this job without removing the exhaust/driveshaft.

After looking at my exhaust flange bolts, i am hesitant to try taking them out. Is there any way to drop the driveshaft from the front+tie it up without removing center support and perform the work?

That about makes up the whole parts list right? Maybe a few exhaust bolts too....

Sorry to revive an old thread, but could you help me out and tell me which of these parts are E60 and which are E46? I'm going to try and assemble the list of parts for my own car, but am finding that some of the part numbers you've given don't come up on RealOEM.com

And hopefully that will freshen it up and give me the short shifter. Otherwise I will have to change the shifting arm and selector rod. The selector rod for the 330cd (25117528395) has a joint included as part of it. It's different to the joint your car uses.

LoveBeingUseless, thanks for the awesome DIY. It was great to have all the nice pictures & text, without having to wade through Bentley.

For my East Coast car, getting the four exhaust manifold nuts removed was a total PITA. The nuts just laughed at PB Blaster & heat, and an impact wrench rounded the darned things off instantly. Nut extractors did no good. It took a full day of whittling with a Dremel to cut the nuts off. Nonetheless, it was worth the pain to get the exhaust and driveshaft out of the way. I also had to do a selector shaft seal replacement while I had everything apart, so I needed all the room I could get.

The "bitch clip" earns its name - I struggled with that thing for a good hour. I installed teflon bushings in the selector arm during reassembly.

One thing I belatedly realized was that a UUC DSSR will not fit over the end of the E60 shifter or a new selector rod joint. Apparently BMW has added extra thickness (to the plastic) on those parts, deleting the yellow washers. At least with the DSSR I had, you would have to shave down the mating new parts to get it to fit. I sent the DSSR back for a refund, because I didn't want to disassemble everything to play MacGuyver.

As it turns out, the bulk of my old shifter's sloppiness was due to the worn selector rod joint - the foam was gone. It shifts very tightly now, and I love the shorter throw with the E60 shifter. I splurged on the ZHP knob, too.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but could you help me out and tell me which of these parts are E60 and which are E46? I'm going to try and assemble the list of parts for my own car, but am finding that some of the part numbers you've given don't come up on RealOEM.com

Hey, sorry to just read this thread again, hope I'm not too late.

As far as I can tell, only the part that's listed as 545i shifter in my post is the only E60 part.

The rest of the bushings are the same EXCEPT the rod bushing (I addressed this in another post elsewhere) but this bushing that connects the transmission and the selector rod could be of different shapes (circle or oval) and I would say is important to find out which you have.

EDIT: Jaundice's post

It is possible to grind down the extra bushing that protrudes from the metal, which is what I did, and it feels awesome and tight...

BringsMeWomen - for rough parts prices, take ruskisky's list and run it through RealOEM. I can't seem to find my receipt, unfortunately. You can check Tischer or other online vendors for current prices, but I don't know about shipping to Canada. Don't think you'll need the yellow washers (the shifter and the selector rod joint incorporate them now, as I mentioned above).

If you pull the exhaust, it would be wise to get the four exhaust manifold nuts; they're self-locking, one-time use. Also replace the two gaskets. Check RealOEM for the part numbers for those items. I can only imagine what a nightmare dropping the exhaust on a Canadian car will be.

The ZHP weighted knob is sweet and worth the $$$.

ruskisky - thanks, good to know for future reference about the DSSR fitment. I had everything assembled when I discovered the problem, and by that point I was beat from struggling with the exhaust and said, "Eh, heck with it." Fortunately overhauling everything else has made a world of difference.

Yeah, I called the company that made the DSSR and they said that the shifter won't fit because of that bushing but I ordered it anyways knowing I'd have to shave something hehe.

As far as the costs, the most expensive thing you'll run into is the shifter itself, 55 bucks or so, the rest are bushing.. I don't think it went above 125 iirc. The DSSR itself is over 100 so that's what made it so pricey and you're looking at 200 bucks for entire parts but overall a good investment. This again is just from recollection, do some searching!

I also ordered the 4 bolts for the exhaust because mine were different sizes (why i dunno) and I think those are like either 10 bucks each or something too lol.

Dropping the exhaust is a must I would say if you want to struggle less in the long run.

Yes it will fit the 03 325i with a 5 speed trans. That is exactly what my car is actually.

To answer your other question, yes. The shifter since perfectly centered like oem. The shifter geometry is spot on with factory shifter, just a slightly short shifter height and increased levering length on the bottom of the pivot point. This is what shortens the throw.

Yes it will fit the 03 325i with a 5 speed trans. That is exactly what my car is actually.

To answer your other question, yes. The shifter since perfectly centered like oem. The shifter geometry is spot on with factory shifter, just a slightly short shifter height and increased levering length on the bottom of the pivot point. This is what shortens the throw.

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone! I'm glad it is helpful

Thanks. This is an amazing mod. I had the dealer install the E60 545i shifter when I went in for an oil change two weeks ago. However, the shift knob is about 2 mm off center. It slightly points towards the steering wheel side. Would it be difficult for them to go back in and make it perfectly centered or does it not really matter in the terms of shift linkage dynamics?